Group of Five New Year's Six Watch, Week 7: Cincinnati bolsters resume

Group of Five New Year’s Six Watch, Week 7: Cincinnati bolsters resume

By Dante Pryor | Oct 11, 2021

Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell and quarterback Desmond Ridder (9) lead the Bearcats onto the field before the first quarter of the NCAA American Athletic Conference football game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and the East Carolina Pirates at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Friday, Nov. 13, 2020. The Bearcats led 35-10 at halftime.East Carolina Pirates At Cincinnati Bearcats /

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(Photo by Rob Gray/USA TODAY Sports) /

5. (19) BYU Cougars (5-1)

The BYU Cougars lost their first game of the season to the Boise State Broncos at LaVell Edwards Stadium 26-17 Saturday afternoon in Provo, Utah. The Broncos, aided by four Cougar turnovers, shut BYU out in the second and third quarters.

BYU led the game early, but two fumbles gave Boise State a short field, leading to 14 points. The Cougars outgained the Broncos 431-312 but could not put the ball in the endzone. What does this mean for BYU’s New Year’s Six hopes?

The Cougars still have a chance for the New Year’s Six because of their schedule. BYU has Baylor next week, as well as Washington State and USC left on their schedule. They also need someone to beat Cincinnati and SMU.

4. (15) Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (6-0, 2-0)

The Chanticleers continue to steamroll the Sun Belt. Their latest victims? The Arkansas State Red Wolves. The Chanticleers racked up 685 yards of offense on their way to the victory. Coastal was up 24-0 at halftime and never looked back.

Like BYU and everyone else on the Watch looking up to Cincinnati, Coastal needs a lot of help. The Chants need more help than anyone else on this list. While solid this season, the Sun Belt is not as strong a conference as it was last season.

Oh, and they might need help keeping Jamey Chadwell out of Blacksburg next season.

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